Trapped
by Qwertywritergirl
Summary: Al wants some time to act like a real kid for once and play, so he makes Ed buy SAO and chaos ensues... This was adopted from Shirayukiz and is now owned by me.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there people of the Earth! How are you…? Good, great. So, this story is not mine. Well, it is now. It was originally by user Shirayukiz. He/she stopped writing this two years ago so I asked if I could take over and I got the okay. If you've read the original then you might notice some changes. I didn't know what to do with those parts so… yeah. I hope it's to your liking.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or SAO… or the plot… for now! It will be mine soon MAWHAHAHA!**

"Ed, can't we just have the chance to act like NORMAL kids for once?" Al begged, walking down the street with his brother. He had been begging his brother to buy a new game that had recently come out called Sword Art Online, a virtual reality game where you fight with swords and whatnot. Al could tell that Ed was close to caving and buying it.

"For the thousandth time Al NO! We have to look for a way to get our bodies back, we don't have time for this!" Ed retorted his face filled with annoyance from Al's constant begging.

"Pleeeeease brother?" Even though Al was a suit of armor, you could tell that he was making puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, fine, greez! I'll buy the stupid game, happy!?" Edward growled.

"Yes! Thank you brother!" Al cheered, unable to stop himself from jumping in the air. He and his brother watched as people gave them weird looks.

"..No problem." Ed's face turned up in a little smirk at seeing Al's little happy dance and they went off to buy the game, running to get in line. When they got there, the line was already huge. It came outside the building and wrapped around the corner. The two brothers quickly ran in line behind a black haired kid that was also waiting in line. People gave Al strange looks, but Ed would glare at them and they would turn away. Finally after what felt like forever, they reached the counter where the game was being sold.

"Aren't you guys lucky! You got the last set of nerve gear and SAO! Here you go! That will be $350 please," the clerk said passing them the bag with the games. Ed shot Al a dirty look, which once Al saw put his hands up in surrender and passed the woman the money before going back to the hotel they were staying at. Once they were there, Ed dropped the bag on the floor carelessly and flopped onto the bed, sighing.

"Brother, I'm going to set it up, okay?" Al looked over to his brother.

"Yeah, yeah sure. I'm just gonna take a nap, wake when you got it ready, okay?" Ed muttered, closing his eyes and rolling over, not bothering to even take off his boots.

"Okay, good night brother," Al said before walking out of the room with the bag, leaving Ed to his thoughts.

It was late, around 7 pm, when Al when walked back into Ed's room, watching him fitfully toss and turn in his sleep before walking up to him and shaking him gently.

"Brother it's set up. Come on, wake up," Al said softly. Ed groaned before sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Alright, alright let's get this over with," Ed muttered grumpily. Al rolled his eyes internally and led him to where he set up the nerve gear.

"Now Ed, don't go making look taller or something weird like that," Al playfully teased him, poking his shoulder.

"Aww, but Al what's the point if can't be taller!?" Ed groaned before taking the nerve gear from his younger brother. "So, we just 'link start' right," he asked while lying down.

"Yep," Al responded. "Alright here we go!"

"LINK START!"

Ed and Al both appeared in the game, Ed looking the same way as ever with the exception of his automail which had been replaced with real, or rather, virtual limbs. He looked over at Al only to be in shock. His avatar that he created looked like would if Al had a real body.

"Al! Y…your body!" Ed tackled his brother in hug. After releasing Al, Ed to the time to look around. The place was bustling with people, some at shops while others were just talking to each other.

"This place might not be so bad after all…" Ed muttered quietly before Al started tugging him along to look at everything, eventually bringing them to an open field. No one else was around except for two other people talking farther down, and it was pretty quiet.

"It's so cool here brother! We can act like normal kids and talk to other people our age!" Al suddenly exclaimed happily. Al was really the only one talking with other people, as Ed wasn't very good at talking to other people. The only other person that was his age was Winry.

"Yeah, it is pretty nice here, huh…" Ed sighed out loud. "I almost don't want to leave…" He admitted quietly.

"Me neither. But we have to get our bodies back, not just have them in a game," Al whispered to Ed, even though the other players around didn't seem to know that they were even there. Suddenly, the boys were teleported away, and Ed and Al stared at them confusedly. Ed broke the silence first.

"I guess we better log out. We're just wasting time in the real world. We can't afford to procrastinate any longer." Al nodded sadly before they both opened the menu, only to find that the logout button was missing. Al tilted his head to the side. "Brother, what…?"

"That's why those people teleported… but that means-"Ed was cut off suddenly as they both were teleported away too.

When they reached their unknown destination, Ed and Al were surrounded by what looked like every player in SAO. They were all gathered in the Town of Beginnings' main square. A small text box reading, 'system announcement' appeared in the sky. It started to multiply, forming a dome and turning the sky red. Suddenly a thick liquid started oozing from the sky. It heavily resembled blood. The Elric brothers knew its appearance well.

"Brother," Al spoke, his voice was shaking, "W…what's going on?"

"I don't know, Al but whatever it is, is can't be good," Ed responded. The red goo started to swirl around and formed what looked like to be an upside down flower bud. It opened up and a giant person stepped out wearing a red cloak that blocked his face. Suddenly he spoke.

"Attention, players. Welcome to my world," the figure boomed. Mutters broke throughout the crowd but were quickly silenced as the figure spoke again. He introduced himself as Kayaba Akihiko, the man that created Sword Art Online, and explained that the logout button was missing on purpose, saying that they had to clear all 100 floors before they could leave. As Ed took this all in, he wanted to scream. He had to finish this stupid game or they would be stuck in here forever? What about their bodies! They didn't have time to waste on this stupid snuck a look at Al and could tell he was thinking the same. He quickly placed a hand on Al's shoulder to try and console him, but before Al could respond Kayaba continued with one last thing.

"If you die in this world you can no longer be revived. Your avatar will be lost forever and at the same time your brain will be fried. Finally, I've left a present for you in your inventory."

Everyone started checking their inventories, and Ed cautiously did the same, finding a mirror. Curious, he used it only to find it turned him into what he looked like IRL, returning his automail. He looked to Al only to see a text box that read 'error' above his head. Unlike everyone else, Al kept his avatar's appearance.

"Good luck, players…" Kayaba called out before disappearing. The sky reverted to normal, leaving everyone in a shocked silence. Suddenly, one girl dropped to her knees shouting "No!" and everyone came out of their shock, starting a riot, people pushing and shoving, trying to deny what just happened. Ed grabbed Al's hand and ran, running straight into the two other boys from before. Ed promptly fell on his butt, before jumping up and muttering a quick apology. He was about to leave when the boy with red hair spoke.

"Hey wait a sec. Where did you get that metal arm? I never heard of an item like that before." Ed made a fist with his auto mail and said, "It's not an item, okay?" He turned to his brother. "Come on Al, let's go." The boy was about to ask for more information but by the time he opened his mouth, Ed and Al had already disappeared.

 **So did you guys like it? I'm kind of excited to write this. I needed something new to work on. So the next update might not be for a while. I will more info in my bio, so check there. Once again a big thank you goes out to Shirayukiz for letting me take over this. I have nothing else to say so bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there who ever is reading this. I hope your day is going well. If it isn't maybe this will cheer you up. *Clears throat* So… chapter 2! ... Thanks to everyone that… did stuff… err… yeah… Let's just cut to disclaimer...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or SAO. But** _ **do**_ **I own the plot now, yeah!**

The red haired boy looked down the now empty alley and scratched his head. "I had no idea that asking someone about an item would strike a nerve. 'It's not an item', then what is it?"

"Klein," the dark haired boy spoke up, his tone serious, " we don't have time for that right now. We need to focus on the task at hand. Listen up. I'll be heading to the next town as soon as possible. You should come too." Klein raised an eyebrow as Kirito continued. "If everything he said was true, if we want to survive this world, it's vital that we get stronger." He opened his map screen and surveyed the surrounding areas. "The resources available in a MMORPG are limited in number. The fields around the Town of Beginnings will soon be wiped clean of mobs. The best thing we can do is move to the next town. I know the way there and how to avoid any dangers we might encounter so even if I'm only level one, we'll make it there safely." Kirito closed the map and looked at Klein, who had a strange look on his face.

"Thanks for the offer but, you know," he sighed, "I waited in line all night to buy SAO with my friends that I met in another game, and they're probably still in the plaza, I can't just leave them…"

 _I could manage if it was only Klein, but with two others… and what if there are more…_

"Sorry but," Klein spoke up, pulling Kirito out of his daze, "I can't keep making you help me like this. Don't worry about me. Just head to the next town."

"Klein," Kirito started but was cut off.

"Hey, in the last game I played I was the leader of my guild. I'll be fine on my own," Klein said while putting up his thumb.

"I see. I'll leave you here." Kirito began to turn away and said, "If anything happens, message me."

"Got it!

"Then… see you Klein." He started walking when Klein said, "You know, that face suits you much better then your avatar's."

"Well, that scruffy face of yours suits you ten times better." With that said, Kirito ran down the away, away from his first friend that he met in SAO. He stopped and looked back only to see that that friend had already left. Not wanting think about how he might lose him or anyone else that he would met, Kirito rushed out of the town and began his journey though SAO.

"I'm...I'm going to survive in this world!"

* * *

 **One month has passed since the start of SAO. 2000 people are dead. The First floor has yet to be cleared.**

* * *

"Ed, wake up," the younger Elric brother tried to shake the Fullmetal alchemist from his sleep. _I guess even in virtual worlds, brother needs his sleep,_ he thought. Al sighed and smashed a pillow over Ed's head. "What you'd do that for," Ed grumbled still tired from yesterday. Him and Al spent the whole day training so they could be the first ones to clear the first floor, only to realize that they had no idea where the boss room was. Fortunately or not (they couldn't decide) there was going to be a meeting to discuss clearing the first floor.

"Come on Ed, we're going to be late if you don't get up." Ed groaned and pulled the covers over his face.

"Fine, give me a sec to get ready." Ed was clearly still in sleep mode because he literally flopped out of his bed and onto the floor. Al couldn't help but laugh at his brother.

Ed stood up lazily and equipped his armor. "All right, let's *yawn* get going," and he walked in front of Al and out of the inn's room.

It had been one month since the Elrics had gotten trapped in this death game. Everything that happened in the first month went by in a blur. Ed and Al had witnessed too many death to count, and too many of those could have been avoided if they could of used alchemy. This 'game' just added onto their guilt and reminded them of the times that they couldn't save someone that needed their help. Ed had it worse than Al. While he told everyone to move forwards, he couldn't do that himself. Al knew this and did what he could to help. Right now, all he could do was live to finish the game with Ed. _I have to survive, for Edward._ His thoughts were interrupted by his brother's voice.

"Come Al, now you're the one that going to make us late."

"Sorry, I'm coming!

* * *

Kirito arrived at the location where the meeting was being held and took a set in the back. Players conversations ended as the meeting started.

"Listen up! I'll be starting the conference now," said a blue haired player that stood in front of everyone else."Thank you, everyone for responding to my invitation. Diable, and my class is, informally, knight!" The crowd snickered at his introduction.

"There's no class system you know," someone said. "Is this meeting a joke," said someone else. Diable just shook it off and continued, this time more serious.

"Today, on the highest level of this floor, my party discovered the boss room!" The players were shocked and in awe of this news. Even Kirito was impressed. "By defeating the floor boss and reaching the 2nd floor, we'll be able to show everyone still in the Town of Beginnings that this death game can be cleared! It's our responsibility to do so! Don't you agree, everyone?!" Mummers spread throughout the crowd as everyone agreed and started to clap for Diable. Kirito smiled as the player's mood started to lighten up.

"For this battle we're going to split up into parties of six." Kirito gasped, not knowing what to do. Being a solo player ment that you rarely created parties with anyone, so you didn't know anyone either.

"Having enough parities is very important so we can form a raid group." The solo player franticly looked around for someone form a party with. Then he noticed a lonesome player in a red cloak to his left. He quickly moved over and said, "Got left out too huh?" A female voice spoke from underneath the red hood.

"The others seemed to be friends already, so I didn't want to bother them."

"So you're a solo player? How about we form a party together?" The girl turned head to look at him, revealing some of her red-orange hair. "We can't fight by ourselves so it'll be just this once." She nodded her head and pressed the accept button on the party invite. As soon as he could see it, he read her name. _So, her name is Asuna._

"We're still a few short," Kirito said and looked around. "How about them?" He asked and pointed to two boys with blonde hair that were sitting by themselves. Asuna just nodded again and stood up after Kirito.

"Hey," he called out to them, "it seems that your party is short a few players. How about we combine to form one big one?" he asked. The first one to reply had short blonde hair and bright gold eyes.

"That would be great! Brother what do say?" he said addressing his brother.

"Sure, why not?" He stood up and held out his hand. "I'm Edward Elric and this is my younger brother, Alphonse, but Ed and Al is fine."

"Kirito, nice to meet you."he shook Ed's hand before extending the party invite to the Elrics.

"All right! Are you guys done partying?" The new party members sat down together as Diable began to speak again.

"Now-" he speech was interrupted when someone shouted 'hold it!' and jumped down to the center where Diable was standing. His hair was bright orange with spikes and he wore tan colored gear with a silver chest plate and carried a sword on his back. He pointed at himself and said, "The name's Kibaou. There's something that I need to say."

There are some people here that need to apologize for the deaths of all the players so far." Loud murmuring was coming from the crowd. Everyone suddenly became more interested in the meeting. Those that were not paying attention before now were unable to look away.

"Kibaou," Diable spoke again, "are you referring to the beta testers?"

"Who else would I be referring too?" he yelled. "The day this game started, the beta testers ditched us noobs and disappeared without a trace. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, leaving us with nothing! Then they just brushed us off, like our lives didn't matter!" The orange haired player turned to the crowd.

"I'm sure someone here was in the beta! They should get down on their knees and apologize, and give up all their items and money. I'm not going to trust someone like that to protect me and you shouldn't either." Kirito was about to stand up but Edward stood before him.

"Would you shut up already?" He said, pissed, "You're wasting valuable time that we could us to take down the boss."

"What did you to me shorty?" Kibaou yelled. _This can't be good,_ Al though and sighed.

"WHO YOU ARE CALLING SHORT, SPIKE HEAD?" Edward tried to run forwards but was restrained by Al.

"You looking for a fight," Kibaou yelled back drawing his sword. "Come and get me, kid!"

* * *

Colonel Roy Mustang sat in his office, slacking off as usual when someone knocked on his door.

"So I'll see you tonight then? Great, I'll meet you there." After hanging up the phone, he said, "Come on in." Behind the heavy piece of wood stood a woman in the blue military uniform that everyone had to wear (except Edward).

"Ah lieutenant Hawkeye, how may I help you?"

"Sir," she said and walk over to his desk, after closing the door. On, it she placed a newspaper with the heading, "10,000 People, Trapped in a Death Game."

"What is this?" Roy asked and started reading.

"It's the top story and is plastered all over the world. The new game Sword Art Online utilises new technology to fully submerse players in the world of Aincrad. However on the first day of it's release, all players were trapped inside by the games creator, Kayaba Akihiko. The only way out is to clear all 100 floors or die in game."

Roy raised an eyebrow at her. "It's just a game isn't it? Why not kill yourself?"

"Sir, unlike other games, if you die in game, your brain will be fried by the Nerve Gear and you'll be instantly killed." Roy just stared at Riza, shocked. He quickly composed himself and said. "I can see why this is a problem, but how does it concern the military?"

"Three of our citizens are trapped inside, and among those are the Elric were found and taken to the hospital." Roy kept silent for a moment before sighing.

"So you're telling me I have to go help Fullmetal and his brother? They don't know how to stay out of trouble, do they?" The flame alchemist stood up and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Where is this Nerve Gear?"

* * *

 **Oooo, Roy's getting involved. Thing are about to heat up! (Get it, cus hes the Flame alchemist. I'm so funny I know.) And Ed is about to fight someone, thing are getting intense! But alas, you will have to wait till next time to find out what happens. Oh yeah, from here on out, chapters will start getting longer. That's it! Bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Guess whose back? Meee! Sorry for the long wait. I just got back from a trip to New York City, so I couldn't write while I was out, and the past few days, my family and I have been redoing our drive way. My legs are sore..**

 **Anyways, thank you to everyone that reviewed, it really motivates me to keep writing. Again, sorry for the wait. Quick question, do you guys want me to respond your reviews? I was thinking about it but, I don't know. Okay, this is getting really long, I'll stop now. E**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SAO or FMA. All credit goes to their respective creators.**

A girl with blonde hair ran through the fields of floor one. She held a silver hammer in one hand and a chain that attached to the end of the hammer in the other. The weapon was thrown up in the air and spun like a ball and chain. The girl shouted a battle cry and slammed the hammer on an incoming enemy. It screamed a generic scream and fell down and died. Stopping to catch her breath, she bent down and took the items that the boar had dropped. There was nothing worth any value. She sighed and flopped on her back.

"I guess I should get back to a safe zone," she said out loud. Her health was in the yellow zone and she had used up all of her potions and healing crystals. A few more hits and she'd be done for. She stood up and pulled out a teleporting crystal. A blue light surrounded her and she was teleported to the nearest town.

When she got there, the first thing she did was go check out the meeting that was being held to find the boss. Of course there was no way she was going to go to the fight, but it was seeing anyways.

The meeting had already started when she arrived but it seemed she hadn't missed much. Everyone was already in a party and the guy in the middle was about to explain more about the boss. The blonde haired girl took a seat near the back behind everyone else, so she was out of site. No one noticed her and the meeting continued.

She started to fall doze off but was awakened when someone shouted "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT, SPIKE HEAD?" She turned to look at the screaming boy. Her eyes opened wide as she looked at him. _No, no why is he here? I thought he was still in central..._ She was about to call his name but decided against it. She stood up and walked back to the inn she was staying at to try and clear her head.

* * *

"You looking for a fight," Kibaou yelled back drawing his sword. "Come and get me, kid!"

"Oh, you're going to regret fighting me, asshole!" Ed broke free of Al's grasp and grabbed his spear, ready to charge.

"Brother, this isn't the time to fight! We need to clear this game as soon as possible you know that!" Al yelled at his brother.

"I agree with that," Kirito spoke up, "We can't waste any time. You said that a minute ago, remember?" Ed sighed and put down his weapon.

"Yeah I guess you're right. I'll teach that loser a lesson another time." He sat back down calmly like nothing happened.

"Hm," Kibaou put his sword away and said, "Fine, but next time I'll make sorry that you ever challenged me."

"Sure, whatever." Ed said now board with the conversation. There was an awkward silence that was broken by Diable clearing his throat.

"Can we resume now?" The crowd simultaneously nodded their heads.

"The latest edition of the guide book was just issued and it contains information on the boss. According to it, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one enters the red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar. He attack pattern changes, as well." The crowd seemed surprised at Diable knowledge.

"Why is everyone so amazed at what he has to say? He's reading out of a book that we all have," Ed said.

"This concludes the briefing. Lastly, items will be automatically distributed. EXP goes to the party that defeats the monster. And whoever receives an item keeps it. An objections?"

None.

"Okay, we leave tomorrow, at ten in the morning. See you there!"

* * *

Ed and Al walked through the moon lit streets of the virtual town reviewing the meeting while trying to find a cheap place to eat. Edward spent all of his money upgrading his weapon and Al couldn't pay for both of them.

"I guess we have to hunt for out food," Al said to Ed and sat down next to the fountain. "If only _someone_ hadn't spent all his money on a weapon that he'll replace once a better one comes along."

"So now you're blaming this on me? It's not like it was your money," Ed grumbled.

"Yes it was!" Al countered, "I lent you money so you could get stronger!"

"Is this really the time to be fighting? We have to find food remember?" Ed said trying to get out of the conversation. "Come on let's get going!" Al sighed and followed his brother out of town.

* * *

"LINK START!" The Flame Alchemist said and activated his Nerve Gear. Colors flew at him and the system checked his five senses. He chose his native language and logged into his new account. Roy used a default avatar, not caring about how he looked. The screen faded to gray and the message "Welcome to Sword Art Online!" appeared. Blue lights flashed and he was transported to the Town of Beginnings.

The colonel opened the menu and saw that the logout button was gone, as expected. He flipped through some more menus before opening up his inventory. There was a single item in it, a mirror. Out of curiosity, Roy clicked on it. Light surrounded him and his appearance was changed to look like he did IRL. _So that why the Nerve Gear had me touch myself_ ( **A/N: In a non-dirty way. I know what you're thinking, you dirty child, or adult.)** he thought.

"If this is the starting town, and so many people are here, that must mean that they haven't gotten too far." He mumbled to himself. "Maybe I should have someone show me around…" Turning his head to look around, Mustang spotted a road lined with NPC's selling basic gear. He opened his inventory and checked how much money he had available. All that was in his wallet was the standard 1000 gold **(A/N: I don't know the currency so I'm using gold.)** that was provided to every newbie. It was just enough to buy a simple weapon and some basic armor.

"How can I help you," asked the NPC running the weapons shop. A menu opened that showcased the different types of weapons. Mustang ended up choosing a two handed long sword to start and a small dagger as a sub weapon. His armor was a basic set of a chest plate, leather gauntlets and a boots. "See you again," the game said as Mustang walked away. After properly equipping himself weapons and armor and buying food, (which left him with 15 gold) he went off to start leveling up.

The surrounding field was filled with boar, wolves and other players. Many of them were just collecting the drops of the low level enemies, not grinding like the colonel. "Let's get this over with."

He charged at a nearby boar, activating a sword skill making his weapon glow red. The sword hit the enemy and it burst into tiny triangles. Picking up the items that it dropped, a few coins and some meat, Roy moved on to the next enemy.

(Insert training montage here)

It was near the end of montage when the inspirational music faded away that Mustang heard someone screaming. He turned his head to look at the source of the noise. A brown haired girl was surrounded by a pack of wolves and her health pushing the yellow zone. A small dagger lay feet from her, just out of her reach.

The pack charged from all directions at the helpless girl. Mustang lifted his hand, ready to use alchemy to save her. He snapped his fingers and…

Nothing happened.

 _Damn it,_ he thought and started running towards the girl, _I can't use alchemy in this world._ But when he arrived, the girl had already lost all of her health. Her body was thrown through the air and landed on the ground. Just like the various enemies, her life was ended when she shattered into a thousand shards. The small triangles shimmered in the light aa they were carried away by the wind. The animals scattered, off to find their next victim. Never again would she return to the real world and the family that she most likely had, Mustang realized. This wasn't a game. People's lives were in danger and the only way to save them was by beating this "game". With this new realization in his head, he went back to training determined to end the death game.

Asuna sat alone on the edge of a flower bed, eating a piece of bread. It was rubbery and had a bad taste, but it was all she had at the moment. She couldn't wait to max level her cooking skill.

"It's pretty tasty isn't it?" She turned her head to look who was taking to her and saw Kirito, one of her new party members. He said, "Can I sit?" Asuna went back to her meal which he took as a sign to sit.

"Do you really think that it's good?"

"Of course," he said, "I've been eating at least on a day ever since arriving in this town. But I do have a trick to make it taste better." Kirito pulled out a ceramic brown jar and handed it to her. "Try putting some on the bread." A thick yellow liquid appeared as she dragged her finger across the roll. "Cream?" After taking a bite to try the taste, Asuna quickly ate the rest of the roll.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked.

"It's the reward for a quest called "The Heifer Strikes Back," from the village before this one. I can show you how to compete it if you want some." She shook her head no from under her hood. "I'm not here to eat good food."

"Then why did you?"

"So I can still be me. I'd rather stay myself until the end than rot away in an inn in the first town. If I did, I would have felt that I lost this game. I'm not going to let this world destroy my own, no matter what." There was a silence before Kirito spoke again.

"I'm not a fan of having party members die on me, so stay alive, okay?"

 **Did you like it? I know it's really similar to the show, but that will change. I don't want it to be exactly like the show cuz that would be boring.**

 **IMPORTANT: This is like prequel to FMA. I'm going to change the first chapter so this makes sense. When the next chapter comes out, I should have fixed it by then. So reread it before reading chapter 4. I have nothing else to say so BYE-BYE! Have a good day!**


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